Samsung’s 12Gb LPDDR4 RAM Module Has Entered Mass Production

Your next flagship smartphone or tablet might have 6GB of RAM. At least that’s what Samsung had in mind when the company announced that the mass production of the industry’s first 12-gigabit LPDDR4 mobile DRAM has begun.

Samsung’s new RAM module is based on the company’s 20-nanometer manufacturing process, and is a notable step up on its existing 8Gb DRAM chips.

This new DRAM chip, in turn, would allow the South Korean firm to come up with a 3GB DRAM by combing two of this 12Gb LPDDR4 RAM modules or, at the most, 6GB DRAM by combining four of these modules in one package.

Samsung was also keen to point out that apart from offering the largest capacity, their new LPDDR4 RAM modules are a third faster than their existing 8Gb LPDDR4 offering, yet consumes 20% less energy.

[Samsung Tomorrow]

The post Samsung’s 12Gb LPDDR4 RAM Module Has Entered Mass Production appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.

Samsung’s 12Gb LPDDR4 RAM Module Has Entered Mass Production

Your next flagship smartphone or tablet might have 6GB of RAM. At least that’s what Samsung had in mind when the company announced that the mass production of the industry’s first 12-gigabit LPDDR4 mobile DRAM has begun.

Samsung’s new RAM module is based on the company’s 20-nanometer manufacturing process, and is a notable step up on its existing 8Gb DRAM chips.

This new DRAM chip, in turn, would allow the South Korean firm to come up with a 3GB DRAM by combing two of this 12Gb LPDDR4 RAM modules or, at the most, 6GB DRAM by combining four of these modules in one package.

Samsung was also keen to point out that apart from offering the largest capacity, their new LPDDR4 RAM modules are a third faster than their existing 8Gb LPDDR4 offering, yet consumes 20% less energy.

[Samsung Tomorrow]

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Which is Better: More RAM or More Processing Cores?

If you’re stuck choosing between two gadgets, one with a higher amount of RAM and one with more CPU cores for processing, which do you pick? Don’t worry. We’re here to explain.

When you run applications, you’ll actually use both. RAM stands for Random Access Memory, which is simply the space / storage where you are allowed to run processes and is temporary in nature. We’re not talking about your internal storage here, so the moment you stop using your device, the RAM empties unlike your ROM (Read Only Memory).

ramvsprocessor

To visualize how RAM works, think about three people in a room named Chrome, Skype and Explorer. If the three people have been given a small room to work in, and Chrome and Skype are really huge and loud types of people, their work would affect everyone else and would slow down. It only gets worse if they think about more things: for example, Chrome thinks about a 10-Tab YouTube project. In this case, the room represents the RAM.

Older computers may see performance improvements by adding more RAM, because some newer applications usually require more headroom to run efficiently. In this day and age, 2GB and 4GB worth of RAM have become a standard for entry-level notebook PCs and mid-range laptops respectively which are meant for browsing and light productivity.

High-end and gaming laptops, on the other hand, are usually equipped with at least 8GB of RAM because manufacturers assume that their target market for this kind of product will likely compose of power users that would run resource-heavy software on their machine, and/or would have multiple apps running both on the background and foreground.

The same can be said for smartphones and tablets. More RAM usually translates to better ability to handle multitasking and demanding apps. And thanks to 64-bit processors, 4GB of RAM will soon be a standard for high-end/flagship smartphones in the future.

vaiopro-cpuz

More cores = better performance, right? Without dealing too much on the technicalities, the short answer is YES. However, performance is determined by more than one element, which is why we see companies promoting CPUs that possesses “better architecture”, “64-bit”, “3GHz” and more.

We can look at a certain multi-core CPU, say an Intel Core i7-4790 as a team comprising of four equally-skilled members (four processing cores). Each member of the team is given two (2) assistants (threads or sometimes referred to as logical cores) that will help them finish a task more efficiently.

Instead of working at a given task all the same time, the boss (operating system) can delegate different tasks to a member of the team which will allow the team to handle and finish more tasks at a given time.

PC and Laptop users benefit from this process because they can get more things done in shorter span of time. The same can be said for smartphone/tablet users, albeit apps are optimized for mobile use and therefore needs less horsepower to run smoothly compared to their desktop counterpart.

Now that we have a general overview of how RAM and multi-core processor affect the performance of device, the question remains; between a gadget with more RAM and more CPU cores, which one should you get?

GSkill Ripjaws X (web)

If you’re a desktop or laptop user, it really boils down to how you intend to use your computer. What types of programs you’re likely to run on your computer more often? Do you usually have 10 or more tabs opened on your browser? Are you planning to edit videos/pictures on your notebook?

The former shouldn’t have any problems in choosing between the two since they can always upgrade their components at their convenience, provided that their motherboard supports the component they wish to upgrade. Portable computers, on the other hand, don’t offer the same flexibility in terms of hardware upgrades compared to desktop PCs. As such, it’s best to get a model with mid-tier or a high-end processor since you can (most of the time) upgrade your RAM capacity whenever you feel the need to do so.

Smartphones/tablets users are pretty much stuck with whatever configuration the maker provides on a particular model. With future upgrades now out of the equation, if you are faced with a decision between two similarly-priced devices, one has MediaTek MT6595 with 512MB RAM and the other has Snapdragon 410 with 3GB of RAM (for example), which one should you choose?

We believe that you’re better off getting the latter for two reasons. First, apps that can truly utilize all of the processing cores simultaneously are few and far in between. Second because users will likely need that additional RAM headroom on a daily basis than having seven cores that are, most of the time, just left unused.

Ronnie Bulaong contributed to this article

The post Which is Better: More RAM or More Processing Cores? appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

G.Skill RipjawsX F3-17000CL9D-8GBXM Review

When I decided to go with the AMD A10-7850K for my personal rig, I knew I need to pair it with a high-frequency RAM to get the most out of the processor and its iGPU. So I went ahead and bought an 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 2133Mhz RAM kit (F3-17000CL9D-8GBXM) which we will be reviewing in this post.

GSkill Ripjaws X Philippines

Design and Construction

Like most fancy memory modules out there, the Ripjaws X comes with a sick-looking heat spreader which, more than anything, gives the RAM sticks plus points for aesthetics and badassery.

Not a whole lot of the RAM’s black PCB can be seen on the RipjawsX as almost everything is sandwiched in between 10-fin heatsink. The one we have here is in blue, but other options (Red, Black and Yellow/Gold) are available to suit your rig’s color scheme.

Clearance

The RipjawsX measures 40mm tall which, depending on your current cooling solution, may present some issues with clearance. Based on experience though, the RAM were just short enough (by a hair) to sit perfect under the Noctua NH-L12 low-profile cooler as shown in the picture above.

The only problem is that I need to take out the CPU cooler every time I need to swap out memory modules. It’s actually more of an issue with the cooler than the memory module, and unless you often change RAM kits, we don’t think it’s going to be that much of a problem.

Stock speed and Overclocking

A quick look at the sticker attached to the memory module will tell you that these RAM sticks are rated to run at 2133Mhz with a timing of 9-11-10-28 at 1.65V. It’s not groundbreaking by any means, but this RAM kit has slightly better stock timings than other 2133Mhz modules in my shortlist.

GSkill Ripjaws X (web)

Using the ROG Crossblade Ranger, we were able to push the RipjawsX to 2400Mhz without adjusting any other settings besides the frequency. This, of course, resulted in to slightly slower timings (10-12-11-31) which are still within the acceptable range.

Your overclocking mileage may vary depending on your system setup and by toying around with various settings, but for the sake of this review we will only stick with 2400Mhz for the overclocked frequency.

Performance and Benchmark

If you guys read our review of the A10-7850K, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve used this memory kit (running at 2133Mhz) on all of the benchmark tests that we’ve conducted on the processor. So if you’re interested to see what kind of performance gains you can expect out of this RAM you can check out our review here.

Info
2133MHz timings on the left and 2400MHz timings on the right.

Apart from the APU-related benchmarks found on the link above, we’ve also ran additional RAM-specific tests on the Ripjaws X F3-17000CL9D-8GBXM with it running at 2133MHz and 2400MHz using SiSoft Sandra, AIDA64 Extreme and PerformanceTest 64-bit.

Test bench:

AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz (Stock)
Integrated Radeon R7 Series GPU
ASUS RoG Crossblade Ranger Motherboard
8GB (2x 4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-17000CL9D-8GBXM dual-channel kit
256GB ADATA XPG SX900 Solid-State Drive
Antec HCP-1200 80Plus Gold Certified 1200W PSU

SiSoft Sandra (Memory Bandwidth & Cache and Memory Latency)

Performance Test 8.0 (Read Cached/Uncached, Write and Threaded)

Performance Test 8.0 – Latency

Latency

Performance Test 8.0 – Database Operation

Database Operation

AIDA64 Extreme (Memory Test)

Benchmark Analysis and Conclusion

The three synthetic benchmark tests we ran yielded contradicting results, particularly in the Latency segment. The score that we got on AIDA64 were near identical despite of the fact that the RAM was running on different frequencies and timings during the test.

On the other hand, the latency test scores on SiSoft Sandra and PerformanceTest tell a different story. The former claims that the stock timings of the RAM while running at 2133MHz will have less latency compared to when it’s overclocked.

Meanwhile, the PerformanceTest result shows that despite of slower timing when the RAM is overclocked to 2400MHz, the memory module performed better in its latency test compared to when it’s running on 2133MHz and stock timings.

RipjawsX Philippines

What is clear though is that the user will get a slightly better performance during Read/Write/Copy operations when it’s overclocked as suggested by the result we got from AIDA64’s memory test.

The same can be said for the result we got from the Memory Bandwidth test on SiSoft Sandra. When overclocked, the RAM yielded slightly better performance on both Integer and Float Memory Bandwidth tests.

Conclusion

Other than the possible clearance issue due to its 40mm-tall heat spreader, we didn’t have any other gripe about the G.Skill Ripjaws X memory modules. It’s got a well-built design, it offers decent performance out of the box, and one can easily bump up the speeds a bit should they feel the need to do so.

G.Skill RipjawsX F3-17000CL9D-8GBXM specs:

Type: DDR3
Capacity: 8GB (4GBx2)
Dual-channel kit
Tested Speed: 2133MHz
Tested Latency: 9-11-10-28-2N
Tested Voltage: 1.65V
Non-ECC
SPD Speed: 1600Mhz
SPD Voltage: 1.50V
Intel XMP Ready

The G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-17000CL9D-8GBXM is available locally in some tech shops and online sellers and currently has a street price ranging from Php3,800 to Php4,500.

What we liked about it:

* Rigid heatsink design
* Various color options to match your rig’s scheme
* Offers good balance between frequency and timing
* Easy to overclock

What we didn’t like about it:

* Clearance may become an issue with some air coolers

The post G.Skill RipjawsX F3-17000CL9D-8GBXM Review appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Memory Matters: Budget Smartphones with 2GB RAM

With yesterday’s list of octa-core smartphones under Php9K, a reader suggested that we make a compilation of affordable smartphones with 2GB of RAM since apart from processing power, memory also matters. That’s exactly what we did and below, you will find the phones that concentrated on good RAM without asking for a lot in return.

2gbram

We categorized these smartphones as budget since they have 2GB of RAM yet they don’t go beyond the 11K mark. The common phones that sport the same memory usually start from 12K or even 13K and above. Handsets in this list are arranged from the most expensive down to the least expensive. Let’s get started!

Acer Liquid E700

The Acer Liquid E700

The Acer Liquid E700 is capable of supporting up to 3 SIM cards

Specifications:
5-inch HD IPS LCD display @ 720×1280 pixels, 294ppi
1.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582
Mali 400 GPU
2 GB of RAM
16 GB of internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
2-megapixel front camera with LED flash
Quad-band, triple-SIM
DTS Studio Sound
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
FM Radio Tuner
Li-Ion 3500mAh battery
Android 4.4.2 KitKat
Price: Php10,990
Acer Liquid E700 first impressions

Xiaomi Mi 3

mi3_6

Great balance in price in specs? The Mi3 is a good bet.

Specifications:
5-inch Full HD IPS display, 441ppi
Gorilla Glass 3
2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core CPU
Adreno 330GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
13 megapixel rear camera w/ dual LED flash
2 megapixel front camera
HSPA+, 3G
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi Direct
NFC
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP
GPS, AGPS, GLONASS
USB OTG
3,050mAh battery
MIUI v5 (Android 4.4.2 KitKat)
144 x 73.6 x 8.1mm (dimensions)
145 grams (weight)
Price: Php10,599
Xiaomi Mi3 review

Huawei Honor 3C

Huawei Honor 3C

The Honor 3C flaunts a One Glass Solution display.

Specifications:
5-inch LTPS, OGS full lamination display @ 720×1280 pixels
Mediatek MTK6582 1.3GHz quad-core processor
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD card
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS with aGPS support
8MP Sony lens rear camera with BSI support
5MP Samsung lens front-facing camera
FM Radio Tuner
Android 4.2 Jellybean
Emotion UI 2.0 Lite
Price: Php9,990

BlackBerry Q5

q5_1

BlackBerry’s Q5 has a dual-core processor made by Qualcomm.

Specifications:
3.1-inch IPS LCD display @ 720×720 pixels, 328ppi
Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 1.2GHz dual-core
Adreno 305 graphics
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD card
HSPA+ 21Mbps
WiFi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
5MP autofocus rear camera, LED flash
1080p video recording
2MP front-facing camera
720p video recording
GPS w/ aGPS support
BlackBerry OS 10.1
Li-Ion 2,180mAh battery
120mm x 66mm x 10.8mm (dimensions)
120 grams (weight)
Price: Php9,480
BlackBerry Q5 review

Qube Colonia

The Qube Colonia

The Qube Colonia is the only handset in this list with an octa-core processor.

Specifications:
5.5-inch IPS HD display @ 1280 x 720 resolution
G+G capacitive touchscreen
1.7GHz MediaTek MT6592 octa-core processor
Mali-450MP GPU
2GB RAM
16GB storage
Up to 64GB via microSD
13MP rear camera with autofocus
5MP front camera
Bluetooth 4.0
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
GPS, 3G
Dual-SIM
2400mAh battery (removable)
156 x 78.4 x 8.2mm
168 grams
Price: Php8,990

ASUS Zenfone 5

asuszenfone5

The most affordable phone in this list, the Zenfone 5 only retails for Php6,495 and comes with an Intel processor.

Specifications:
5-inch IPS display, 1280 x 720 @294ppi
Intel Atom Z2560 1.6GHz multi-core processor with HyperThreading Technology
PowerVR SGX 544 MP2
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
64GB via microSD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
3G/HSPA+
Bluetooth
8MP BSI rear camera w/ LED flash
1080p video recording @30fps
2MP front-facing camera
2110mAh battery
Android 4.3
148.2 x 72.8 x 10.3mm
144g
Price: Php6,495
ASUS Zenfone 5 review

The post Memory Matters: Budget Smartphones with 2GB RAM appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.